Jeremy Daniels stood outside the changing rooms, waiting for his mother to finish trying on the clothes she had gathered.He tapped his foot and whistled a made up tune as he patiently lingered. “Almost done, Mum?”He called.After a few seconds, he heard her expected reply. “Almost.I’ll be out in a minute.” He turned his head away from the changing room door and watched as shopper after shopper strolled down the gleaming tiled floors.Many were young girls, chatting and talking on cell phones.Even a few guys sauntered past every now and then.He sighed.He never went out with friends just to go.He didn’t have that many friends to hang out with in the first place.Most people described him as “slow”, though he was at least smart enough to realize what they said about him behind his back wasn’t very polite.It was true that he was in the very basic classes at school, the ones for the mentally retarded, and that his brainpower wasn’t as fast as the majority of the world’s, but he still had feelings.Feelings that seemed to get hurt quite often. Just as his head was starting to droop from drowsiness, he heard a girl’s voice laughing and talking to someone else.Recognizing the voice, he lifted his eyes and caught a glimpse of Marie London, the girl that occupied his dreams every night.She was the one he imagined himself with, smiling and talking…maybe even holding hands one day.He felt beads of sweat trickling down the back of his neck; just looking at her from afar made him nervous.He watched intently as she and her friend pointed at random items of clothing and commented on each. Marie tossed her reddish hair back and pointed at a pair of shoes.They were a bright yellow color with green stripes. “Oh yeah,” she laughed loudly.“I really want those!”The two girls giggled some more before walking away.Once they were out of sight, Jeremy cautiously walked to the place where Marie had previously been standing.He picked up the shoes and observed them with a customer’s eye.The price tag didn’t display a very friendly number to the average person, but if Marie really wanted them… He pulled out a wallet from his pocket.It was full of bills, but only ones that came from allowance and birthdays.Not many people wanted to hire him, so he had never been able to work for money.Still, he had the right amount to pay for the shoes.He strode proudly up to the check out desk and bought his gift for the girl of his dreams.
“Almost done, Mum?” He called. After a few seconds, he heard her expected reply.
“Almost. I’ll be out in a minute.”
He turned his head away from the changing room door and watched as shopper after shopper strolled down the gleaming tiled floors. Many were young girls, chatting and talking on cell phones. Even a few guys sauntered past every now and then. He sighed. He never went out with friends just to go. He didn’t have that many friends to hang out with in the first place. Most people described him as “slow”, though he was at least smart enough to realize what they said about him behind his back wasn’t very polite. It was true that he was in the very basic classes at school, the ones for the mentally retarded, and that his brainpower wasn’t as fast as the majority of the world’s, but he still had feelings. Feelings that seemed to get hurt quite often.
Just as his head was starting to droop from drowsiness, he heard a girl’s voice laughing and talking to someone else. Recognizing the voice, he lifted his eyes and caught a glimpse of Marie London, the girl that occupied his dreams every night. She was the one he imagined himself with, smiling and talking…maybe even holding hands one day. He felt beads of sweat trickling down the back of his neck; just looking at her from afar made him nervous. He watched intently as she and her friend pointed at random items of clothing and commented on each.
Marie tossed her reddish hair back and pointed at a pair of shoes. They were a bright yellow color with green stripes.
“Oh yeah,” she laughed loudly. “I really want those!” The two girls giggled some more before walking away. Once they were out of sight, Jeremy cautiously walked to the place where Marie had previously been standing. He picked up the shoes and observed them with a customer’s eye. The price tag didn’t display a very friendly number to the average person, but if Marie really wanted them…
He pulled out a wallet from his pocket. It was full of bills, but only ones that came from allowance and birthdays. Not many people wanted to hire him, so he had never been able to work for money. Still, he had the right amount to pay for the shoes. He strode proudly up to the check out desk and bought his gift for the girl of his dreams.
Bright Yellow, Green Stripes Page Two